Pin positioning device



G. S. LIGHT PIN POSITIONING DEVICE Dec. 22, 1959 Filed Feb. 28, 1958 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR Basra? 5-14 11 BY fifidl ATTORNEY}? Dec. 22, 1959 G. s. LIGHT PIN POSITIONING DEVICE Fil ed Feb. 28, 1958 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR Bear '5 ELLI.

ATTORNEY-5 United States The present invention relates to devices for positioning pins and more particularly to devices for positioning pins pierced through a strip of sheet material.

The overall object of the invention is to provide a pin positioning device which gives a high degree of stability to the pins and controls the strip of material in which they are pierced in a manner facilitating either their manual or automatic removal.

The above and other related objects as Well as the various novel features of the invention will be apparent from a reading of the following description of the disclosure found in the accompanying drawings and the novelty thereof pointed out in the appended claims.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a plan view of a pin positioning device embodying the present invention;

Fig. 2 is a front elevation of the device seen in Fig, 1;

Fig. 3 is a side elevation of the device seen in Fig. 1;

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary section showing an alternate positioning member;

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary view partly in section of a modified portion of the present pin positioning device; and

Fig. 6 is a section taken on line VV in Fig. 5.

The present invention deals primarily, if not exclusively, with the removal of pins from an elongated strip s of sheet material (as seen in Figs. 1-3) through which pins p are pierced at two transversely spaced points as indicated at x and y in Fig. 2. The strip s is wound into a relatively large coil as indicated at c in Fig. l, which is a conventional form of packaging pins.

The embodiment of the invention seen in Figs. l-3 is intended primarily for positioning pins for manual removal from such an elongated strip of sheet material and is therefore conveniently provided with a base plate 10 which may be mounted on a bench or at any other convenient spot for a worker using pins on the coil c. The coil c is rotatably mounted on a stud 12 extending from the base plate 10. If desired, a series of ball bearings 14, held in place by nut 16, may be provided on the stud 12 to facilitate rotation of the coil c. The strip s is extended from coil c and wrapped around a turning post 18. Again the turning post may carry ball bearings as at 20 to facilitate movement of the strip s.

At this point note will be taken that the pins p as they pierce through the strip s form what may be best termed an elongated, segmented, closed loop, i.e., the portion of the strip material between the points x and (Fig. 2) in combination with the portion of the pin between these two' points forms a closed loop which extends in a segmented sense throughout the length of the strip s. Thus it can be seen particularly from Figs. 1 and 2 that strip s extends beyond the turning post 18 to an elongated rod 22 which is tapered at its infeed end to enter the above-described elongated, segmented loop. This loop is rendered more circular in form as the strip 8 conforms at least in part to the shape of the rod 22.

Eatent O 2,917,748 Patented Dec. 22-, 1959' The rod 22 at its outfeed end is secured, as by brazing, to a supporting member 24 which preferably has substantially the same thickness as the diameter of the rod 22 in the area adjacent said rod.

The actual mounting for the elongated rod 22 comprises a stud 32 (Figs. 1 and 3) extending from the base plate ltl. An L-shaped bracket 30 is fastened on the stud 32 passing through slot 33, fast against a spacer 36 by a nut 34. The rod support 24 is enlarged at its outer end to receive a screw 26 which passes through a slot 23 and secures the support 24 to the L-shaped bracket 30. The slots 28 and 33 are provided to get a desired set-up relationship of the elongated rod 22 and also to provide adjustments for various lengths and sizes of screws. Also different sizes of spacers 36 could be employed if any substantial heightwise adjustment of rod 22 is desired.

A pair of guide rails 38 are disposed in generally parallel relationship to the rod 22 and spaced outwardly therefrom a distance approximating or somewhat larger than the diameter of the pins. The outer edges of strip .9 are folded toward each other and away from the heads and points of the pins and channeled between the guide rails 38. It will be seen that the infeedl ends of the guide rails 33 are outwardly flared at 40 to facilitate the channeling of the outer edges of the strip .9 therebetween. The guide rails are formed as a pair of plates which are secured on a threaded stud 42 extending from the base plate 10 by nut 43 and properly positioned by spacers 44 and 46 of suitable thickness.

With the above described positioning device suitably fastened or otherwise maintained in fixed relation at a desired point the strip s may be pulled or advanced to the right (Figs. 1 and 2) to bring the leading pin p into engagement with the inner edge of the support 24, which serves a dual function in providing a stop for the leading pin. The pins are generally held in. upright positlon by the guide rails 38 and elongated rod 22 coacting with the two points of support at x and y provided by the strip s. As thus positioned a worker may readily grasp the head of one or more pins and pull them from the strip. After a given number of pins have been removed from the strip or at least by the time the pins engaged by the guide rails 38 have been removed the strip extending beyond the support 24 may be manually gripped to again bring the leading pin into engagement with the support 24.

An alternate form of the invention is seen in Fig. 4 wherein an elongated rod 22' formed with a fiat side at 50 replaces the previously described circular rod 22. The

width dimension of the flat side 50 is sufiicient to prevent rotation of the pins p relative thereto as they are held thereagainst by the thickness of the rod 22' The pin, strip may be threaded onto the rod 22 after the fashion I above described and the pins are maintained in. an up-J right position wherein they can be readily removed as their heads are exposed to be gripped by a worker. It

will be noted that in this form of the invention the guide rails 38 may be eliminated.

Referring now to Figs. 5 and 6 there will be seen a form of the invention which is particularly adapted for use wlth automatic pin removal means. For illustrative, purposes the structure may remain as above described with the following modifications. The base plate 10 has f been cut away in the area beneath the leading pin p" 3 moved downwardly by conventional means to engage the head of the leading pin positioned by the support 24 in the manner illustrated in Fig. 6. The leading pin will be forced downwardly through the pin head marginal edge portion of the strip, beyond the elongated rod 22 and finally through the lower marginal edge portion of the strip s completing removal of the pin. Such an arrangement as just described could find utility in an automatic pin inserting machine wherein as the pin is removed, it is at the same time automatically inserted in a marking ticket or the like. It will be noted that during the initial portion of the removal operation above described, the pin is supported in a relatively firm manner at the two spaced points at which the strip s is pierced.

After the plunger 54 completes removal of the pin, it is retracted to a point above the path of advance of the pins and the strip s may then be advanced as by slippings rolls 56 which engage the strip s at a point beyond the device.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed as novel and desired to be secured by Letter Patent of the United States is:

1. A pin positioning device for an elongated strip of sheet material having a plurality of pins spaced apart along the length of the strip with each pin piercing the sheet material strip at two transversely spaced points to form an elongated segmented loop closed off by successive pins, said positioning device comprising an elongated rod element for guidingly receiving said loop for sliding movement of the strip therealong and means for controlling the anghlar position of the pins relative to said rod element and confining the pins to a given path of movement during said sliding movement along said rod element, whereby the pins are positioned along said given path for ready removal.

7 2. A pin positioning device for an elongated strip of sheet material having a plurality of pins spaced apart along the length of the strip with each pin piercing the sheet material strip at two transversely spaced points to form an elongated segmented loop closed off by successive pins, said device comprising an elongated rod for guidingly receiving said loop for sliding movement of the strip therealong, and means for controlling the angular position of the pins relative to said rod and confining the pins to a given path of movement during said sliding movement along said rod, said means including a pair of transversely spaced edges running substantially the length of said rod and said rod having a cross-section distending said loop sufficiently to hold said pins in engagement with said edges whereby the pins are positioned along said given path for ready removal.

3. A pin positioning device for an elongated strip of sheet material having a plurality of headed pins spaced apart along the length of the strip with each pin piercing the sheet material strip at two transversely spaced points thereby forming an elongated segmented loop closed ofi by successive pins, said device comprising an elongated rod for guidingly receiving said loop for sliding movement of the strip therealong, and means for controlling the angular position of the pins relative to said rod and confining the pins to a given path of movement during said sliding movement along said rod, said means comprising a pair of guide rails generally parallel to said rod and transversely spaced apart a distance approximating the cross-sectional dimension thereof, said guide rails having guiding edges generally parallel to each other and parallel to said rod, said guiding edges being spaced outwardly from said rod on the pin side of said loop for respectively engaging said pins outwardly of said loop 4 with the marginal edge portion of the sheet material strip adjacent the pin heads being confined between said guide rails whereby the pins are positioned along said given path for ready removal with the sheet material spaced away from the heads of the pins.

4. A device for positioning pins wherein the pins are each pierced through two transversely spaced points in an elongated strip of sheet material and the pins are spaced from each other along the length of the strip providing an elongated segmented loop closed off by successive pins, said device comprising a plate, means for rotatably mounting a coil of said strip on said plate, an elongated rod mounted above said plate and onto which said loop is threaded, a pair of guide rails mounted above said plate generally parallel to said rod and transversely spaced outwardly therefrom, said guide rails being flared outwardly from each other at their infeed ends to channel the outer edges of said strip therebetween as said rails prevent rotation of said pins relative to said rod, the mounting of said rod including a supporting member extending transversely of said rod between the outer edges of said strip, said member providing a stop against which the leading pin in the strip may be positioned while the strip itself may pass therebeyond.

5. A device for positioning pins wherein the pins are each pierced through two transversely spaced points in an elongated strip of sheet material and the pins are spaced from each other along the length of the strip providing an elongated segmented loop closed off by successive pins, said device comprising an elongated rod onto which said loop is threaded, a pair of guide rails generally parallel to said rod and spaced outwardly therefrom on the pin side of said loop, said strip thus being positioned for advancement along said rod with its outer ends folded between said rails and with each of said pins maintained and supported in a given plane by the strip at the two spaced points of piercing, a stop in the path of advance of said pins and means mounted in a fixed position between the outer ends of the strip for supporting the pin head strip edge.

6. A device for positioning pins wherein the pins are each pierced through two transversely spaced points in an elongated strip of sheet material and the pins are spaced from each other along the length of the strip providing an elongated segmented loop closed off by successive pins, said device comprising an elongated rod onto which the loop is threaded, a pair of guide rails generally parallel to said rod and spaced outwardly therefrom on the pin side of said loop, said rails being divergently flared at the infeed side thereof to guide the outer edges therebetween as the strip is advanced along said rod with each of said pins maintained and supported in a given plane by the strip at the two spaced points ofpiercing, a support for said elongated rod at the outfeed end thereof, said support extending laterally from said rod in a plane intermediate said guide rails and a strip support mounted in fixed relation to said rod to hold the pin head strip edge generally normal to the axis of the leading pin.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 

